Donald Trump, on paper at least, has added another $1.8 billion to his fortune.
Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of Truth Social, has given its namesake another 36 million shares of the company as a bonus for the share price staying above pre-set limits, it revealed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The payout was expected. At current prices, the number of shares equals $1.8 billion in value, but that amount will likely fluctuate as wildly as the stock has in recent weeks. It gives Trump control of almost 65% of the company’s shares. He is, however, currently bound by lock-up restrictions and cannot cash those in, unless those are waived by the company’s board of directors.
The payout came after Trump Media shares stayed above the $17.50 mark for 20 days in its first 30 days on the market. Shares have been well above that price since they began trading, though they’ve had a wide range, ranging from a $66 high to a $22 low.
Were Trump to sell off a significant number of his shares, that could make things even more volatile for the company, given his sizable ownership stake.
Analysts remain skeptical of Trump Media, saying the company is overvalued and the stock price does not accurately reflect the company’s fundamentals.
Trump Media lost $49 million in the first nine months of last year, when it brought in just $3.4 million in revenue. In the past month, the company’s market cap has fallen from $10 billion to $6.32 billion. Shares were down more than 7% in mid-morning trading Monday.
The latest cash infusion has landed Trump back on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index once again, after he was removed from it on April 11 due to the falling price of Trump Media Shares. As of Wednesday morning, he was ranked #308.